Flatwound: Fender or La Bella?

[Pandastylebass]

I use Fenders on my fretless J and P
and Labella's on my fretted P's and my Stingray.
I like rounds on my fretted Jazz for that "sound"
I also like GHS as well, but none of my basses are currently sporting them

 

[Fleebag]

I concur with iiipopes, the fenders do have a little growl to them out of the package, kinda that upper mid ghs thing, but I've found that they tame fairly quickly. Just tried labellas dtf's for the first time on my p...wowzers, they'll be there a loooooong time.

 

[hopsbb]

Only flats I've tried have been Labella's Beetle bass flats.Got them on my Hofner which sounds amazing.Can't really speak for any fender strings.

 

[rafitoprtx]

I just install a set of flat Fenders in my pbass. They are awesome! I was afraid that I will have issues cutting thru the mix but they get the job done. I use to have the la bellas in a pj bass and I always have to use the j pick up to open the tone because the dtb are dull. I will try the chromes later in my five string.

 

[Mike Vee]

Sorry, but no. Flats do not growl. At All. Never have. Never will. It is impossible for them to do so. Flats are good for many things, but growl is not one of them.

Very very wrong. Fender flats DO indeed growl. Especially on maple.

 

[BlueRock]

After 9 years whatever the OP chose they're nicely broken in.

 

[douglasbass]

I found the La Bella flats to be too 'glassy' in touch, too 'slippery', so I went with Fender 9050s instead.

 

[Grinderman]

You have obviously never played the Fender flats. They growl. I played a single set for two years, until I decided to go with tapes after Fender discontinued my favorite set, the CL 45-60-80-105. The only thing that happened in that two years is the E string did end up being a little dark, so I replaced with an Ernie Ball 105, which also has a tad of growl to go with the punch.

Thread back from oblivion.

I concur... 8 years after. I can positively report that Fender 9050 flats on my jazz bass in 2022 growl, even after 7 months. For comparison, there's no chance a set of Dunlop nickel rounds, that I've played, would still be this growly or bright after 7 months. 9050 flats don't hug, purr, ask for belly rubs, or honk.

My only regret is that I didn't get a set a step up from 45-100.

 

[andare]

Thread back from oblivion.

I concur... 8 years after. I can positively report that Fender 9050 flats on my jazz bass in 2022 growl, even after 7 months. For comparison, there's no chance a set of Dunlop nickel rounds, that I've played, would still be this growly or bright after 7 months. 9050 flats don't hug, purr, ask for belly rubs, or honk.

My only regret is that I didn't get a set a step up from 45-100.

Don't regret it. The thicker gauge still has a 100 E string, which is idiotic. So floppy.

 

[Grinderman]

Don't regret it. The thicker gauge still has a 100 E string, which is idiotic. So floppy.

Sorry, I meant the 55-105 set, so 2 steps up.

 

[Pilgrim]

Labella 760FL strings on a P-bass is ALWAYS the right answer.

 

[andare]

Sorry, I meant the 55-105 set, so 2 steps up.

Same deal, the 105 is too light for that set. At least for me.

 

[Grinderman]

Same deal, the 105 is too light for that set. At least for me.

I wouldn't push it further on my jazz bass neck anyway, which is the only bass I use Fender 9050 flats on. I don't Like Fender 9050 flats for my P basses.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

Sorry, but no. Flats do not growl. At All. Never have. Never will. It is impossible for them to do so. Flats are good for many things, but growl is not one of them.

You need to try more types of flats. If you can't make a set of TI Jazz Flats growl it's definitely not because of the strings...

 

[Deleted member 271037]

LaBella DTFs are completely different to Fender flats. Darker, fatter, smoother, thumpier.

LaBellas on a P-bass is a CLASSIC combination IMO. They're my first choice of flats on a P-bass if I want an old school, FAT, thumpy tone. If you don't use a foam mute they can also be a lot more versatile than some people give them credit for. They usually need a LONG break-in period before they reach their full potential though. Stangely this seems to vary from set to set. Most often they're quite bright/metallic sounding out of the box and need weeks or even months of playing before they develop that fat LaBella tone. But sometimes they sound close to "broken in" from day1. It seems to be a lottery with LaBella flats sometimes...

As for the Fender flats I like those better on J-basses than P-basses. The growly mid character of the Fender flats can get a bit too much for my taste with the more mid focused P-bass. They're not bad though, just a matter of taste.

 

[Phaidrus]

So here's a set of Fender flats on a Pbass.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I've just strung my Jbass with Fender flats, and I like em very much.
Now it is time for my Precision Road Worn to be strung with flats...shall i try La bella 760FL?
Are they better or different from Fenders?

I like Fender med light

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

So here's a set of Fender flats on a Pbass.

For comparison, here's my '72 P-Bass with La Bella 760FL flats:



- Steve

 

[Phaidrus]

For comparison, here's my '72 P-Bass with La Bella 760FL flats:



- Steve

Thanks! I'd say the LaBella 760FL sound more rootsy, woody, Motownish, while the Fender 9050M have quite a lot more bite, even growl, Led Zeppelin like, if I may so put it.

That said, here's a video featuring the 760FS, where they sound quite lively and have quite a bit of bite to it.

 

[JRT64]

I use Labella DTF 760FL's on my SX P, and I just put them back on my Squier CV 60's P too. They both have DiMarzio Model P pups in them, and the Labella's work well with them. I keep getting compliments on how good the SX sounds, and I want the Squier to be similar. With the Labella's back on on, they are very close in character. Which works nicely for me.